Winning Ways

Times have changed since five years ago, when almost every
contestant in the Wharton Business Plan Competition at the University of
Pennsylvania's Wharton School was an Internet firm. This
year, the watchword is "diversity," says Nicole Righini,
associate director of entrepreneurial programs at Wharton. Among
tech and energy-related companies, the 2003 winner was a pet health
insurance business. Chris Ashton, 30, Natasha Ashton, 29, Laura
Bennett, 37, and Alex Krooglik, 30, won $20,000 in start-up
capital.

The fact that the Ashtons came from a personal standpoint
helped-Chris and wife Natasha got the idea for the company when
their cat, Bodey, fell ill in 2001. "We took her to the vet
hospital-it was expensive," recalls Chris. After paying large
out-of-pocket costs, the couple looked for the pet insurance that
was easily available in England, their homeland, but wasn't as
easy to find in the States.

The pair, students at Wharton, met up with Bennett, who had
insurance experience, and Krooglik, who knew the technical side of
a start-up. "We'd done surveys of pet owners and their
needs," says Chris. "We collected over 2,000 responses to
our first survey, so we had a strong assessment of what people
wanted." They also got data from veterinary clinics to come up
with a pricing plan.

It was the comprehensive business plan that helped set them
apart from the competition, says Righini: "They'd given
their business and marketplace a great deal of thought. They came
up with a novel idea, and they were able to support it with their
financials."

Righini notes the year was so competitive the judges went well
over the allotted time to choose a winner. "I think this year
is the best competition we've ever had," she says. "I
don't think we've had such a rich mix of business ideas.
The quality of these business plans is better than it ever has been
before."

Chris hopes to launch the company (which has yet to be formally
named) in January 2004. When asked about starting a company in
difficult economic times, Chris responds with the air of a seasoned
entrepreneur: "There are challenges, but if you can get the
business sorted now, it's as good a time as any to get things
up and running."